Death Has a Shadow
Plot Peter loses his job but finds a fortune in welfare fraud. Full Plot As Lois prepares dinner, Stewie puts the final touches on his mind-control device, only to be taken away from him by Lois, who won't allow toys at the table. Later, Peter asks Lois for permission to attend an upcoming stag party. After he promises to not drink, Lois lets him go. Unfortunately, Peter does not heed his wife's advice and plays such drinking games as Drink the Beer. He goes to work the next day with a hangover and falls asleep on his job as a safety inspector in a toy factory. Peter misses such things as a butcher knife, surge protector, gasoline can, razor blades, a porcupine, toaster with forks inside and plug in water. The company receives bad press after releasing unsafe toy products, and Peter is promptly fired. At dinner, he breaks the news to the children but decides to keep it from Lois. Peter tries different jobs, such as cereal mascot and sneeze guard but fails miserably;. Brian pressures him to tell her the truth, but all he manages to do is tell Lois how fat she is. Brian insists that Peter must look out for his family's welfare. With the word welfare in his mind, Peter soon applies for government assistance at a welfare office. But a processing error creates a weekly cheque for $150,000. Telling Lois he received a big raise, Peter spends his money on many foolish things. Peter rents the Statue of David, treats Meg to cosmetic surgery and even goes so far to surround his house with a moat to protect them from the black night. Unfortunately, Lois is given the welfare cheque by the mail lady and storms at Peter. Peter decides to return the money to the taxpayers by dumping it from a blimp during Super Bowl XXXIII, and Brian accompanies him. They end up in prison. Eventually, Lois receives the bad news and goes to court, where the judge sentenced Peter to 24 months in prison. Lois tries to explain he's not that bad and she loves him and insists that no matter what, she will always stand by her husband. The judge agrees and sends her to prison with him. Stewie, being a baby, must have parents by his side, regardless of his burning hatred for them. He then whips out his mind control device and forces the judge into letting his father go free and get his job back. Peter states that he has learned his lesson and will never do it again. Instead, he is going to try for such things as a minority scholarship, sexual harassment suit and a disability claim. Main Characters * Peter Griffin * Lois Griffin * Brian Griffin * Stewie Griffin * Chris Griffin * Meg Griffin Recurring Characters * Quagmire * Cleveland * Tom Tucker * Diane Simmons * Johnson * Mr Weed * Judge * Charlie * Nancy the Postal Lady * The Black Night * Dick and Paul * God * Kool-Aid Man * Ed McMahon * Dick Clark * Adolf Hitler * Tom Hanks * Bill Clinton * Jerry Seinfield * John Madden * Pat Summerall * Scott Baio * Erin Moran * The Brady Brunch * Arnold * Dudley * Pound Poochies * Baby Heimlich * G.I. Jew References * Jemima's Witnesses are a reference to Aunt Jemima's pancake syrup and the Jehovah's Witnesses * The Stag Party porn, Assablanca is a reference to the classic film Casablanca and recreates dialogue from the airport scene * G.I Jew is a reference to the action figure G.I Joe * Pound Poochies is a reference to the 1980s dolls and the cartoon series Pound Puppies * The FOX security guard gets a weapon from the rack labelled 'Just One Gun', a reference to the then-slogan of FOX, 'Just One FOX' which is worn by on the front of the guard's uniforms * Stewie says "Life is like a box of chocolates" from the Tom Hanks film, Forrest Grump Notes/Trivia * Not only was this the premiere episode of Family Guy, but this was the first episode to air on a Sunday, both during the Superbowl and after it was picked up as a complete series starting on April 11th, 1999. When Family Guy was revived in 2005, FOX put it at the 9:00 pm timeslot, and American Dad following it at 9:30, helped revive the Sunday night Animation Domination block. Family Guy has remained there ever since * The episode begins with the family watching an episode of The Brady Bunch in which Jan Tattles on Greg for smoking cigarettes. A real episode titled 'Where's the Smoke' featured a similar plot * The cutaway gag of Peter taking Holy Communion in church originated in the Pilot Pitch and was repeated again in Fifteen Minutes of Shame * Brian doesn't vote because of welfare cheques * A wimpy Adolf Hitler is seen being jealous of a beefy Jewish man